Chapter 7: The Deformed Patrolman Lance

After leaving No. 3 Lauriston Garden Street, Watson told all his reasoning in the carriage and raised the question he was most concerned about:

"Did the deceased really not die of poisoning?"

Holmes said: "This possibility cannot be ruled out, but I did not find any traces of poison in the deceased's mouth, nor did I find any hidden injection needle holes on the body surface, and there were no obvious symptoms of poisoning. Further tests are needed to determine the real cause of death."

"Then have you found any other clues?"

Holmes shook his head slightly, "This is exactly what I am most puzzled about. After investigating the scene, except for you, me and the police present, there is no trace of anyone else entering."

"Then..."

Holmes and Watson looked at each other and said in unison: "The key to this case lies in last night's patrolman John Lance!"

While they were talking, Victor had driven the carriage through the streets and alleys and came to a dirty and dim alley. He pointed to the narrow gray-black alley ahead, "Miss, Audley Apartments is just ahead. The alley is too narrow for the carriage to enter, so you and Mr. Watson will have to go in."

"Well, Victor, you wait for us here."

"Okay, Miss."

Audley Apartments is a square courtyard with four-story buildings in tatters on all sides. Clothes poles extend from the windows, and faded underwear flutters in the wind, like a flag of the lower class surrendering to poverty.

The ground in the courtyard is paved with slate bricks, and a group of dirty children are laughing and playing inside. They are unfortunately spared from the torture of school due to poverty, and fortunately avoid the destruction of the factory due to their weak physique. There is still pure innocence in their eyes, and their silver bell-like laughter reverberates in the courtyard.

As soon as they saw Holmes, they all stopped their actions and stared at the female detective intently. Such a fashionable and beautiful lady should not appear in this slum-like Audley Apartments, but in a luxurious manor.

Just like the princesses in fairy tales should stay in castles and towers.

This undoubtedly made these inferior children feel a little restrained and at a loss.

Holmes smiled and waved to greet them, which frightened them so much that they took several steps back and shrank into the corner of the yard.

Watson stood in front of the door of Building 3, "Let's go, don't scare them, they are not used to seeing such a bright and beautiful lady like Miss Charlotte in the slums."

Holmes followed Watson upstairs sullenly. They came to the door of No. 406, and a rusty copper plate was nailed on the door, on which was engraved the name of the resident, 'Lance'.

Watson was about to knock on the door, but Holmes' nose twitched slightly, his brows frowned, and suddenly stopped him, saying vigilantly: "Something is wrong, I smell a bloody smell."

Bloody smell? Watson leaned close to the crack of the door and smelled it, and there was indeed a faint salty smell coming from it, which was the bloody smell that he was very familiar with.

Watson couldn't help feeling a little ashamed. Logically, he should have been the first to discover it.

After all, he had fallen asleep smelling this smell all day long on the battlefield, but he didn't know whether he was too familiar with it and subconsciously ignored it, or whether the serious illness destroyed his perception, he didn't notice it at the first time.

"Take it first, just in case."

Watson lowered his voice, took out his old friend from the holster under his windbreaker, and handed it to Holmes.

Holmes nodded, holding the heavy pistol with both hands - this Colt M1873 revolver is not a standard military weapon in England, but Watson's private trophy. Its .45 caliber has extremely strong power at close range, and it is also called the "gun that pacifies the West" on the other side of the ocean.

Watson staggered back two steps, exerted force on one foot and slammed his shoulder against the door panel like a hammer. The fragile door lock broke on the spot, and the door opened with a bang. Immediately, a strong smell of blood hit him.

The small front hall was in a mess, with scattered food residues everywhere, half-chewed sausages, pasta with meat sauce, raw potatoes with teeth marks, powdery bread crumbs... and a female corpse lying on the sofa with eyes open.

The female corpse had an unbelievable horror on her face, her eyes were wide open, her mouth was slightly open, and there was a big hole in her belly.

And Watson's target of this trip - Patrolman John Lance, was still wearing the police uniform of Scotland Yard. At this moment, he was lying on the bloody female corpse with his back to them, eating it, and his head was buried in the belly!

Even Watson, who was used to bloody scenes, felt a little creepy, and his hair stood up all of a sudden.

When Miss Charlotte witnessed the cannibalism, she felt that it was more shocking than the cold corpses in the dissection room.

Especially since she was in her menstrual period, she was hit by the strong smell of raw blood, and her pretty face turned pale. She vomited with a vomiting sound, and the coffee, toast and fried bacon that had not been digested this morning were sprayed all over the floor.

The knock on the door just now did not attract John Lance's attention, but the fishy smell of the puddle of vomit vomited by Holmes made him turn around slowly.

Although Patrolman John Lance's face was covered with blood and minced meat, it was still possible to see that his facial features were regular. His eyes were still eyes, his nose was a nose, and his ears were ears, but that mouth... that was really not a mouth!

Its mandible was split in the middle, and the gap extended all the way to the lower lip, protruding ferociously forward toward the separated jaws on both sides, tearing through the skin and texture like two sharp scimitars. The once flat teeth have been deformed into sharp serrations on the blade, and the two fangs as thick as thumbs curve upward at the front end, and there are still a few fresh, steaming bright red muscle fibers hanging on them.

In fact, even its eyes are extremely abnormal. They are black and bulging, and the surface is densely packed with hexagons like insects. At a glance, it makes people feel cautious.

"It's not a human! This is definitely not a human! This is a monster in human skin!!!"

Watson shouted in his heart: "Since it is not a human being...then it is reasonable and legal for me to kill it!"

The monster tilted its head, its dark eyes staring intently at the two humans in front of it. From its dull expression, it was difficult to discern its inner thoughts.

But in the middle of the opening and closing mouthparts, the slender tongue that was constantly swallowing and forked like a snake's tongue made Watson wary. It was like a poisonous snake testing before biting!

"——Chirp!"

The monster suddenly made a strange sound, which sounded like the cry of cicadas or other insects. In short, it was definitely not a strange sound that human vocal cords could make.

Watson couldn't understand the other party's insect language, but he sensed something fishy from the short and aggressive rhythm.

He pulled Miss Holmes who was still vomiting, held her arm to help her up, and gestured for a temporary retreat.

Holmes nodded palely and stepped back slowly, while vigilantly raising his gun and pointing it at the monster in front of him.

This move immediately angered the monster. In its remaining fragments of wisdom, it still recognized that the luminous metal artifact in the hand of the female erectus opposite was an extremely lethal weapon.

Zhizhizhi——

It let out a penetrating scream like nails scraping against glass, opened its two mouthparts outwards, and suddenly lowered its body and rushed forward with its head buried in the air.

This shrill and howling scream seemed to set off waves of sound. The noise penetrated into the brain along the ear holes and vibrated in the skull wall. It was like a turbulent wave hitting the rationality again and again, shaking Watson's head. Buzzing.

In a daze, he seemed to hear a strange clicking sound in his head, accompanied by a rhymeless whisper - in gi rum imus noc te et con sumi!

"It's so noisy, shut the fuck up!!!"

Watson roared in his heart, and instantly broke away from the influence of the bizarre sound. As soon as he woke up, he saw that the monster had sprinted in front of him, and it was as if he could smell the opponent's fishy breath so close!

Faced with this violent attack, which was like a bull charging, Watson, who had difficulty with his legs and feet, had no time to retreat and dodge, so he could only swing his cane out with all his strength!

He picked up the cane stick, rounded it and swung it towards the monster's insect head. A simple stick made him hit a baseball home run!

The solid stick hit the monster's head and broke with a bang!

Watson only felt a huge force from Mo Pei in his hand, and his mouth was shaking and numb.

But the monster's head was only slightly tilted by this blow, and the momentum of the collision was not affected at all. It was like a crazy bull trying to pierce the chest of the male erectus in front of it!

He bent his left elbow forward, both to block and to attack, but he felt as if his elbow had hit a galloping war horse.

There was a slight but unignorable sound of bone cracking in his arm, and Watson was knocked flying two meters away by this overwhelming force, until his back hit the wall next to the door, making a loud bang, which shook the entire body. The wall trembled and then stopped.

Watson felt as if his internal organs were turbulent. The severe pain made him almost dizzy. His left arm drooped down weakly, and traces of blood dripped down his arm and fell to the ground.

The monster was dizzy and stunned under the impact of the impact. The skin at the corners of its eyes was torn and bright red blood slowly flowed out.

"It turns out that this monster's blood is also red."

Watson thought so, grinning an ugly smile, and suddenly felt that the other party was nothing more than that. As long as he was still injured and bleeding, he was not invincible.

Holmes saw the opportunity for them to distance themselves and pulled the trigger at the right time. Bang - the gun barrel rotated, the firing pin struck the primer and caused a deflagration, and the round-headed projectile rushed out of the chamber impatiently.

Her shooting skills were indeed good. The bullet accurately hit the target between the eyebrows, causing a faint flower of blood to bloom.

The monster fell backwards and flew out like a heavy hammer, crushing a low dining table and remaining motionless.

Miss Holmes also breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this, with a hint of shock on her pale face.

"It's Patrolman John Lance? Why does it look like this?!!"

"Seeing as he's still wearing Scotland Yard clothes, it's probably John Lance we're trying to find."

Watson came down from the wall, coughed out a mouthful of blood, twisted his cane with difficulty, and took out a long and narrow dagger-like cane sword from inside, and was about to move forward to finish the attack.

But, but!

The monster Lance, who was supposed to have his brain pierced, actually stood up unsteadily, with the brass bullet embedded between his eyebrows, but it failed to penetrate its forehead bone!

Watson looked horrified, thinking it would be okay if he was shot in the head? ! Your skull is harder than a bulletproof helmet! ! !

Seeing this horrifying scene, Holmes pulled the trigger continuously in desperation, completely emptying the magazine.

Five blood flowers bloomed on the monster Lance, but it just shook its body a few times, as if it didn't care about the six bullet holes that kept oozing blood. It walked towards the two people slowly and firmly like a copper wall.

The monster Lance's mouth closed and opened slightly. Although its expression was still as stiff as a wax figure, Watson seemed to feel a hint of contempt and ridicule from it.

It seemed to be laughing, mocking, mocking the two hopeless upright apes in front of it. After using up the only firearms they relied on, what other means do you have to escape from my clutches? Give up struggling and resistance and become my food! Merge with the sacred me! ! !

We flew all night until we were engulfed in flames.